Identifying Your Goals

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You are likely to find your classes more motivating and enjoyable if you have clear reasons on why you are taking them. Goal setting can help you stay in touch with how your current classes may fit in with your larger personal, academic, career and life aspirations. This awareness can provide you a source of motivation, commitment and persistence. And can provide an extra incentive to stick with it when it is hard to concentrate or if you are not that interested in a particular class.

When setting goals, it is important to distinguish between short, intermediate and long term goals. It is also important to be able to identify steps that you can take towards reaching your goals. 
Learn more about goal setting.

Goals that contribute to academic success often include:

  1. Satisfying the requirements for a major and graduation
  2. Career aspirations
  3. Meeting a certain performance standard
  4. Acquiring knowledge or expertise in an area of personal interest

There are many resources on campus that can help you clarify your goals, help you to figure out which classes you might need to take, and how you might need to perform in order actually realize your hopes and aspirations.

Career Services offers some excellent tools to help you figure out what goals you might want to set for yourself:

  • The Strong Interest Inventory is a test that will offer suggestions of different careers that match your particular interests. Click here to take the test.
  • Career Services also provides information on different majors and what majors might match your chosen career. Click here for Career Services’ webpage with information on different majors.

Career Services can also help you figure out what jobs or internships would help you work toward your goals. Click for help with jobs and internships.

Academic Advising is another source of valuable assistance with goal setting. Advising can help you with determining which courses you need to fulfill requirements for graduation. Academic advising is also the place to go for help with determining your major and understanding what requirements you must satisfy for various majors.